THE SENIOR MEN'S CLUB OF NEW CANAAN
Minutes of the Regular Meeting of June 14, 2002
President Bob Witt opened the meeting on a very rainy morning with 183 members present. Current membership is 499, with 31 on the waiting list. He also announced that the SMC Directory is in development under the direction of Ralph DiDomenico. New members Phil Ives, Tom King, Alan Master, Joe Riggs and Marshal Sneirson were introduced and welcomed.
Announcements: Dick DePatie reported SMC member Dan Sullivan passed away on June 10th. Rod Williams is recovering at Wavney after spinal surgery. The Senior Center is seeking a person with writing/poetry skills to teach a course. Contact Lynn Bond for details. Today is the 225th anniversary of the American flag and is Flag Day. The Jet Blue raffle raised $4230 and was doubled by matching gifts to $8460.
Activities: Tennis and bridge are BAU, and we were assured that Racquetball had a good turnout. On July 15th, golf will be at Ridgefield CC, the fee is $37 with a 9:30AM start. Trailblazers will hike to Devils Den on June 26. The 4F’s luncheons will be at Woodway Beach club in June, and at the Stamford Yacht Club in July.
Couth: June 19 we will travel to the Goodspeed Opera House. July 27 is the date for the CT Jazz Festival. August 15, takes us to Sagamore Hills and a ferry ride home from Port Jefferson. September 19th, bettors will go to Belmont. October 9th, we see Oklahoma, and on Nov. 9th we see the Army-Air Force football game.
Resident Humorist: John Berg informed us of the importance and correct use of higher mathematics when dealing with your secretary.
SPEAKER Vice President Bob Shafter introduced guest speaker David Neeleman, CEO of Jet Blue. In light of the Sept. 11 events, Mr. Neeleman informed us that Jet Blue personnel had to be recertified, and Titanium-Kevlar cockpit doors were installed, all by the end of October. He believes, with adequate cockpit doors guns in the cockpit is quot;crazyquot;. He then addressed why people did not travel after 9/11. The reasons included mourning, fear, business expense concerns, and the hassle factor. For whatever reasons business started coming back in November. In part he attributes this to the "crew members" who take care of the customers. A 32% salary increase for pilots was scheduled for September, which was delayed until January 2002, at the request of the pilots. In January the pay raise was given retroactively to September 2001. The customer load factor for Dec. 2001 was 79%, vs. 74% for Dec. 2000. This compared to an industry load factor of 67%. Rethinking the IPO in early 2002, an issue price of $27 was established. The IPO was a success with the stock opening at $37 and closing at $47. Current price is about $44. David declined any stock options since as a founder of Jet Blue he already had equity. He is very positive for the future. Jet Blue will go from 25 planes today to 50 by YE 2003. The 1Q 2002 operating margin for Jet Blue was 17.5%, with Southwest reporting 3.8% and AA reporting a negative 17.5%. In May Jet Blue beat their revenue objective with a load factor of 83%. David attributes Jet Blue success to the best coach product, lowest cost structure in the industry, best crew, employee stock purchase plan, and excellent crew-customer relationship. His biggest challenge is to keep Jet Blues success ongoing. In closing he stated "if we fail, we will fail from within."
Stan Stanziale, Asst. Secretary